Intermediate steering shafts are generally designed such that they can be lengthened and/or shortened. In this way, it is sought to achieve that relative movements that occur between a driver's cab and a vehicle chassis during driving operation of the motor vehicle do not have an adverse effect on the steering characteristics.
US 2011/0098121 A1 discloses a device for coupling an inner shaft and an outer shaft which are displaceable in the direction of a common axis. Balls are provided between the two shafts. The balls are arranged in axial grooves of the inner shaft and in axial grooves of the outer shaft. Each row of balls is held in position by an dual elastic element arranged in the groove of the inner shaft, which elastic element exerts a spring force on a roller track such that the respective balls are held between the roller track and the axial groove formed in the outer shaft.
As a result of the requirement for the spring force loading of the roller track for positioning and holding the balls between the roller track and the axial groove formed in the outer shaft with a relatively large spring travel, a relatively large degree of play of the balls in the roller track arises. Furthermore, the abovementioned device is not suitable for use in the field of heavy goods vehicles and the associated material loading.
The disclosure is therefore based on the object of specifying an intermediate steering shaft for a motor vehicle and a method for operating an intermediate steering shaft for a motor vehicle, which intermediate steering shaft is inexpensive to produce, is highly durable and permits effective play compensation of those components of the intermediate steering shaft which are displaceable relative to one another.
The object is achieved with an intermediate steering shaft for a motor vehicle having the features described herein and with a method for operating an intermediate steering shaft for a motor vehicle having the features described herein.